I'm wondering if the Shout Color Catchers actually work. The quilt I'm about to finish - it's red & white. The fabrics were prewashed, but I've found from hard experience that with some of the really dark or bright colors once is not always enough. Even though I wash my hands before handling the quilt, well, crap happens & this quilt needs to be washed. I'm terrified that, after all this work, the red will turn the white pink. (Obviously, I didn't think this quilt through. Quilt and learn!) I've purchased a box of the color catcher sheets hoping if anything is going to run it won't be a disaster. Has any one tried these? How well did it work?
I've had good luck with Shout Color Catchers....they haven't failed me yet, even with reds.
I've had great luck with the Color Catchers also. You do want to remove the quilt and dry it and not let it sit wet in the washer. I made that mistake on some pillowcases I made and one faded on another but other than that, I swear by them. I don't prewash fabric either. ... When I finish a project, I keep washing it with new shout sheets each time until the sheets come out white. Usually that takes two washings. They are really great with darks and lights. ... I use them in ALL my wash loads.
Ditto what Karla said.
Oh, ladies! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I feel so much better now - I had visions of pink streaks or worse. Roxana thanks for the tip about quick removal from the machine. I'll make sure to remove it right away. Does this mean I can STOP prewashing? Bonus!
I never prewash because I hate ironing the fabric afterwards and I use a lot of bright fabrics. Prewash it you want, but I don't find it necessary.
Karla, Thanks for your input. I HATE prewashing. Then you have to iron & some of the fabrics get limp & hard to work with, so then you have to put starch or sizing back in, so why wash it out? I like the slightly wrinkled, well-used look you get when the fabrics shrink up a bit, but I'm pretty new to this quilting thing and still figuring out what "rules" to keep & what to leave behind. I have done my last prewash...
Good for you. No pre-washing necessary.
There are no quilt police around here...I, too, like the wrinkled look of a quilt after it is washed for the first time. It's my quilt, so I do as I please.
Are the color catchers at the fabric store or in laundry isle at groc store I haven't seen these?
Quilting My Rainbow
I have a friend that swears by some kind of a salt rinse before she washes reds or bright blues.
I'm not sure if she puts a cup of salt into her washer and runs it through the rinse cycle or how she does it. I'll ask her and share it when I get her answer. (And she makes quilts as a side job--sells most of hers.)
Chicagoland, Illinois
Don't hesitate to use two or three color catcher sheets with a single quilt - especially for the first washing and if it has strong colors.
Best invention ever! (Well, after the sewing machine!)
Yep, they're sold at the grocery store with the laundry aides.
On the banks of the Mississippi River in north central Minnesota (Brainerd lakes area)
Shout Color Catchers are in the laundry aisle at the grocery store, just about all of the major ones here in AZ carry them, so likely elsewhere as well. They work very well. When I sent a red and white Christmas quilt to friends in MN I included several along with directions. There are two different kinds. I use the one that comes in sheets, and stick them in a lingerie bag in the back of my front loader before loading the wash...
stitcheraz
I agree with every one here. I also use 3-4 in a load and I usually was the quilt by itself. I've never had a problem with colors bleeding or running. They are pretty cheap when you consider how much blood, sweat and tears you put into a quilt that could get ruined by running colors. I did a red, black and white quilt for a baby and it never ran.
Georgetown, CA I'd Rather Be Quilting
IS2116, they are in the laundry aisle at grocery stores or places like Target or Walmart. Never seen them at a fabric store.